WASHINGTON – As Islamic supremacists – mainly the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood – spread their influence in Egypt and now Syria, one of the groups that is falling victim to their rise is the Christian community, reports Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

In Egypt, there are wholesale efforts at “religious cleansing” of Coptic Christian families in villages.

Before his ouster, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was backed by Christians who were concerned with the increased killings of Copts in the waning days of the regime and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In Syria, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite, which is an offshoot of the Shiites, actually has protected Christians and for years had incorporated them in his government bureaucracy.

With the rise of the Sunni opposition, the Christians not only are fearful of losing their jobs but also their lives in any Sunni takeover of Syria.

There are reports, for example, that the Christians cheered the recent Russian and Chinese vetoes of the United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the Assad regime for its violent crackdown on the opposition, which increasingly is being infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood and its ally, al-Qaida.

There is increasing concern that a Christian pogrom could sweep both countries. Given the rise of a hardline Islamic majority that could amount to 75 percent in the Egyptian parliament and the prospect of a forced removal of Syria’s Assad, analysts believe such a prospect is very likely.

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